Wishing Well
by DarkMaidenEast
Summary: Yue recaptures lost memories of the woman he, and Clow Reed, once loved. He senses her near him, but Clow had cursed him so he would never love again. Sweet, star-crossed lover story, with my favorite Yue! Funny moments too, though .
1. In which Kero is annoyed

Okay, so this is a CCS fanfic (snaps to Anna for helping me with the idea, as always .!) Yue's lost love . . . awwwww. It's kind of depressing, but there's nice funny bits too, so that's all good. Enjoy!

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**Wishing Well**

Yue looked up swiftly. "Someone's coming," he announced, wrapping his wings around himself in preparation of returning to his temporary form, sending Kero spinning across the room in the process.

"Just me, Yue," Toya came through the door, collapsing in a chair and putting his feet up on the coffee table.

"Hey Toya, what's up?" Yuki emerged from the wings to place a newspaper under his friend's feet.

"God, Yuki, it's just a little mud!"

"But Toya, that's a nice table! Ah, coaster," he shoved the appropriate article under Toya's descending glass.

"Yo, Yuki, I was talkin' ta Yue, here!" Kero popped up behind them.

"Sorry." The wings engulfed Yuki, opening to reveal Yue once more. "We should probably continue this upstairs, Kero."

"Whatever," the little winged lion shrugged.

Yue crossed his arms and Kero followed him to the staircase.

"Toya, is that you?" Sakura's dad rounded the corner, barely giving Yue time to hide his wings, let alone change to Yuki.

"Toya- oh! Um, hello, I'm Toya's father, and you are . . . ?" He bowed, then waited, a curious expression on his face.

"Yue," the guardian responded, bowing back.

"Are you looking for Toya?" Mr. Kinimoto looked Yue up and down, taking in his strange robes, violet eyes, and long white hair.

"Sakura, actually, Mr. Kinomoto. Is she in her room?"

"Well, yes, but, I- where are you going?" Her father called after Yue's retreating form.

The guardian whipped around the edge of the stairs and ran up faster than anyone he'd ever seen.

"Sakura?" Yue opened the door to his mistress' room slowly. "May we come in?"

"Of course!" Sakura was at the door in a bound, slamming it open and sending Kero on his second cross-room spin that day.

"Ooo . . . I'm okay," he mumbled from the floor.

Sighing, Yue scooped him up and deposited him in Sakura's desk drawer, which he closed and locked.

"Why'd you do that?" Sakura asked, looking up at him.

"I wish to speak privately. Without _any_ interruption." As he spoke, Yue gathered a tiny blue ball of power, shooting it at the door to prevent anyone from overhearing, and, more importantly, from entering. A second block was placed on the drawer, and the muffled curses ceased.

"What's wrong?" Sakura gestured to Yue to take a seat on the bed next to her.

He glanced at it with raised eyebrows. "I shall stand, thank you." He sighed. "I know not how to begin, Sakura but, well, I'll start at the beginning. This may take a while, make yourself comfortable."

Sakura snuggled deeper into her pillow.

Satisfied, Yue continued. "This all began centuries ago, when Clow Reed was still living. He- he was in love with a woman, Izumi, but the feeling wasn't mutual. She, Izumi, I mean, was very beautiful, and Clow swore revenge on the man she chose to give her hand. I-I suppose you're wondering what this has to do with me," Yue broke off and began pacing the room.

He stopped. "Everything. You see, the man Izumi had set her eye on was closer than he realized. It- it was me, Sakura, Clow's own creation." Yue sat at the desk with a sigh, and resumed his story with his elbow on the desk and his chin in his hand, a dreamy look in his eyes.

"As I have said, she was the most beautiful creature ever to have graced the earth, but she wasn't completely human. She was an Elf, created by an Irish sorcerer--"

"Um, what's Irish?" Sakura asked, her curiosity overcoming her hesitation to interrupt Yue's story.

"From Ireland."

"Oh. Where's Ireland?"

Yue sighed. "It's really not important, you can look it up later."

"Um, so what happened with Izumi?" Sakura asked, eager to hear the rest of the tale.

"She was one of the last surviving members of the Elven race, and Clow fell deeply in love with her. For ten years he tried to win her heart, he was always casting spells to bring her to his home.

"It was this action that was her downfall. She had come one day of her own accord, having left a scarf the night before. Clow wasn't home, and Keroberos answered the door. I heard him speaking to someone in the hall, and of course I came out too, thinking Kero was frightening innocent passers-by again, but it was Izumi. . . ."


	2. In which Yue remembers

"Keroberos! What do you think you're doing? Clow specifically told you to let _me _answer the door, and now you--"

"It's all right, Yue. I'm almost used to him by now."

The sad note in the woman's voice brought him up short. Yue took a closer look at the intruder. "Izumi!" he made a valiant but fruitless effort to hide the elation in his voice. "Come in, I did not see who it was. Kero has a nasty habit of opening the door to unsuspecting strangers in his true form."

Izumi laughed. "It's all right, Yue. I left my scarf here yesterday, and I need it. Do you know where it is?"

"Of course. I'll be right back." someone watching closely might have seen the light in his violet eyes dim slightly, and the erect shoulders slump a bit.

"He's got the hots for ya," was Kero's unasked-for assessment of the situation.

"Do not joke about such things!" Izumi rounded on him angrily. "You know what Clow would do if he thought Yue was trying to court me!"

Kero shrank back. "Sorry."

"Oh, it's not you, Kero. It's just, well, I'm afraid that if Clow discovers how I feel about Yue, he'll kill him!" She sank onto the floor, face in hands. "Oh, what will I _do_!" she sobbed.

"Izumi!" Yue abandoned the scarf and ran to her side, dropping gracefully to his knees. He placed his hands on her shoulders, his wings sheltering her and partially blocking her from view. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, Yue!" Izumi threw her arms around the guardian, burying her head in his shoulder. "I'm so sorry!"

"What for?" Yue asked, overcoming his shock enough to wrap his own arms around the woman.

"I couldn't help it, Yue, I must leave," she turned her head away and began to remove her arms.

"What is going on here?" Yue, Kero, and Izumi looked up in unison.

"Hey Clow, what's up?" Kero sidled over to the imposing form that was currently blocking the doorway.

The powerful sorcerer shoved him aside easily, striding over to the couple who by now were standing side by side.

"Hello Clow," Izumi tried hard to smile.

"Yue."

The judge returned his master's irate gaze cooly. "Yes, Clow?"

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Please, Clow, it is not what you think! I had tripped and Yue was only helping me up, I--"

"Silence!"

Izumi gave way a step or two.

Clow grasped Yue by the hair, pulling him forward so their noses were barely an inch apart. "Have you been deceiving me, Yue?" he asked, his tone almost even.

Yue dropped his eyes and sagged in his master's grasp. "I'm sorry, Clow."

"Yue!" Izumi came forward again, but Kero stepped in front of her.

"I wouldn't bug him just now," he advised in an undertone.

She nodded mutely.

"Well, Yue? I think I deserve an explanation." The sight was a strange one- to the casual observer just a parent scolding a disobedient child, until one noticed the murderous glint in Clow's eye.

Yue closed his eyes for a moment, steeling himself for an odious task. He sighed. "I cannot lie to you, Clow; I love her. But that is all! I do not believe she returns the feelings. Do not take your anger out on her, please!" His eyes were open now, and fixed on Clow Reed. Yue took hold of Clow's shoulder's pleadingly.

"Traitor!" Clow tossed Yue away from him, and the guardian managed to wing himself up just before crashing into the floor.

"However," now it was Yue's turn to be menacing, hovering near the ceiling. "You created me to protect you, but I have no qualms about using that power against you, should the need arise." To demonstrate his point, Yue casually drew a large ball of blue power, prepared to strike.

As one, the three left on the ground felt their mouths drop open.

Then Kero sprang into the air. "You wanna hurt Yue, you'll have to get through me, first."

Clow began to laugh. "It looks as though I made you a little too loyal," he smirked. With a wave of his hand he sent Keroberos spinning into the wall, and from there to the ground.

"I hadn't wanted to do this, but. . ." Clow seemed genuinely sad as he mumbled an incantation.

Yue gasped and dropped to the ground on all fours. He was breathing heavily as he tried to raise himself up on his arms. Patches of his robes and skin began to grow translucent.

"No!" Izumi wrenched free of Clow's arm and ran to his side, holding him to her.

Yue raised reproachful eyes to Clow. "Why do you do this, Clow? No, not only removing your support from my power, but torturing Izumi this way? If you truly loved her you would want for her what she wanted!" Yue fell back down, exhausted by his outburst.

Izumi stood slowly, considering her options. "If I said I loved you, Clow, and would stay with you forever, would you bring Yue back?"

"I have no need of secondhand love!" Clow cried, but he removed the block on Yue's power. "As for you," he addressed the form that lay still on the floor. "You shall never again love any but me. I was foolish to create you with that weakness in the first place."

"No . . ." Yue moaned, as a reddish glow engulfed him.

"Clow, don't!" Izumi slapped him, hard.

Clow grabbed her arm, wrenching it painfully behind her back. "I banish you from this world forever!"

There was a flash of light, and she was gone.


	3. In which Tomoyo cries

Sakura cleared her throat, breaking the total silence that had descended on the room at the end of Yue's narrative. "Wow. That's so sad, I-"

"You know what it is like to live without love, Sakura," Yue said softly, musingly. His head came up off of his hand abruptly. "I think you can help me."

"Um . . . what about Kero?"

"Oh!" Yue made a flicking motion at the drawer, which flew open, expelling an irate Kero.

"Just because you've got power now doesn't mean you can boss me around, Yue, I--" Kero paused, taking in the depressed air of the room.

"My memory returns, Kero. Izumi. Clow blocked it, did he not?"

"Yes," the little beast was subdued now. "Yeah, Clow had a nasty habit of locking the women he loved up in random dimensions, ya know?"

"That is not funny."

"Sorry, Yue, but he did."

"I said shut up!"

"Sorry, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, be quiet." Sakura piped up.

Kero and Yue looked at her blankly.

"Er . . . never mind." she said, embarrassed. "Um, would you like some tea?"

[[[[[[[[[O]]]]]]]]]

Yue swirled the tea he'd been too polite to refuse around and around in his cup. He did not eat or drink, but it was a soothing motion.

Kero looked back and forth between him and Sakura, who was unusually subdued. "What's bugging you, Sakura?" he asked finally. "Yue's story didn't depress you _that_ much, did it?"

She looked at him. "Be nice, Kero. And it did."

Yue looked at her sharply. "I apologize."

"No!" Sakura shook her head. "It's not you, it's, well, it's Clow. He said you'd never love anybody but him. And that means . . ." she trailed off, staring at the teapot.

Yue smiled briefly. "I assure you, Sakura, that as much affection as it is possible for me to give is yours. It took time for it to grow, but I am convinced I am as attached to you now as ever I was to Clow." he sighed. "You are kind and well-meaning. Clow was a jealous, narrow-minded man. He had no love for me."

"Are you kidding?" Kero flew up near Yue's face. "Clow treated you better than anyone else!"

Yue's violet eyes were sad. "No. Not anyone. Anything. I was a prized possession, an achievement to be shown off, nothing more. I am not human, but with Sakura I feel as though I am truly amongst friends."

Toya entered the room, breaking the silence. "Tomoyo's here to see you, monster," he said. "And the brat."

"Syaoran?" she asked.

"Whatever. I'll send them up," Toya turned and left.

"Hey Sakura!" Tomoyo bounced up to her, giving her a big hug before spinning around to Yue and Kero. "Hi guys!" she grinned widely.

Syaoran followed, shaking hands calmly with Sakura.

Tomoyo looked around the room. "What's going on? Why is everyone so sad?" she asked.

Sakura, failing to see the warning glint in Yue's eyes, and choosing to ignore the way Kero was flapping around making cutting noises by his throat above Tomoyo's head, quickly filled her friends in on Yue's story.

When she finished Tomoyo turned to Yue, clasping his hands in hers with a starry look in her eyes. "Oh!" she breathed. "That's so romantic! Just like a book. Oh, I hope you find her again!"

Syaoran nudged her. "Stupid," he muttered. "Yue can't find her. First, she's gone, and second, he couldn't love her even if she were here."

Tomoyo looked utterly crestfallen. She sat heavily on Sakura's bed with tears in her eyes. "Why!" she wailed. "Oh, cruel fate that acts in such ways!"

Yue raised an eyebrow. "Fate has nothing to do with it. Clow Reed works in cruel ways, nothing more."

Kero perched on Tomoyo's shoulder. "I don't get it," he said. "Why did you remember about Izumi now, Yue? It's not like anything's really changed."

Yue shrugged gracefully. "If I knew that," he said. "I would know how to forget again."

Tomoyo clapped her hands to her face, staring at Yue with wide, tear-filled eyes. "Oh! But it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, isn't it?"

"The man who said that had never felt true love and had it wrenched from him," Yue said. "But I know I cannot forget."


End file.
